Thoughts and Commentary on Socially Responsible Investing

July 19, 2008

Just a note to let you know that The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility is out. The book is a compilation of essays on corporate social responsibility from many different perspectives (I wrote the chapter on social investing). It's big - 656 pages, 2.6 pounds - so owning it is a sure sign of your commitment to the field!

It took a bit of hunting, but, finally, a decent obituary for Sir John Templeton, from The Economist.

Warren Buffett has the star power, but Templeton was arguably an equally skilled investor. Like Buffett, Templeton got his early training in securities analysis from Benjamin Graham.

When I was getting my MBA, my investments textbook listed four investors whose outstanding long-term track records were probably not due to chance: Warren Buffett, George Soros, Peter Lynch, and John Templeton.

Of that group, only Templeton had any use for social investors. He wrote in the late 80s that social investment funds "ought to be encouraged," and reportedly never owned a tobacco stock.

For those who believe one must behave dishonestly or unethically to achieve superior investment returns, the career Sir John Templeton stands as a provocative counter-example. For more information on Templeton in his prime, see John Train's excellent profile in The Money Masters.